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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-08-30, Page 11ef- Community. Head injury affects local boy By Nellie Evans SSP News Staff A 12 -year-old Huron County boy looks normal on the out- side. But on the inside, his mind is in turmoil. The boy and his family, who wish to remain anonymous. are coping with the results of a severe head injury he suffered when he was five years old. Yet the teen's problems didn't start with a motor vehicle col- lision but with ear infections and inherited generic disease. As a two-year-old toddler, the boy had recurrent ear infections leading to hearing problems and delayed speech. His mother believes the boy's hearing loss contributed to his accident three years later. He also suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and a disease carried down through the family. "He was a busy little boy. He didn't walk, he ran," said his mother, casting an admiring eye toward her youngest child. "He had the devil in his eye." But on May 28, 1988, the spark left her son's eye forev- er. With tears welling in her eyes, and breathless wishes to do things over again different- ly, his mother related the fate- ful day. It was supper time, around 6 p.tn., and her two youngest children were play- ing outside the kitchen win- dow. Her husband was cutting grass near the lane. "It was between (wrapping) one and six cobs of corn. That's how fast it happened," she said. The boy, frustrated with attempts at pulling his sister on a wagon with his bicycle, went across the road to see his father. He never arrived. The five-year-old was hit from behind by a•car carrying a load of young people. "They never saw him until his face was on the wind- shield," said his mother. "My husband saw it happen but he couldn't catch him." Still conscious, the boy was taken to South Huron Hospital, Exeter, and later transferred to University Hospital, London, where doc- tors determined he suffered a severe head injury. "One of his lungs collapsed because there was not a small enough tube to keep air to it, she said, making transport to a London hospital urgent. The boy was supposed to be admitted to Children's Hospital of Western Ontario but he suffered a seizure enroute so was taken instead to University Hospital. The family kept a vigil by his bedside for three days, while they witnessed daily struggles with life and death. Many times the struggle to live was lost. "(He) looked so small on the bed," his tnother remembers. But the boy's fighting spirit survived. The first thing he said once taken out of a drug- induced coma was, "I'm hun- gry. Let's go home. He never knew what hit him," she said. A fact he's coping with today, seven years later. "He doesn't think there's any- thing wrong. He's not dealt with the accident much," she said. The head injury had few side effects in the beginning, but as her son is about to enter Grade 7 in September, his behavior has become increasingly worse. School is "negative now" with her son expressing his anger through stories and pictures of violence and class- mates tease him with cruel nicknames. But despite these problems, the boy is doing things his doctors never anticipated -like reading. "He functions at grade level. It's got nothing to do with intelligence," she said. His school assignments are segmented so they are easier to handle and he now reads short stories. His favorite? Stephen King's horrors and mysteries. He is a perfectionist and loves to carve wood and play soccer and hockey. "We had to push hien to go to hockey. But once he's there, he's great. He's an excellent skater," she said. And he enjoys looking at old cars with his father. said. The family is trying to com- municate with the school through a liaison, a person with nursing experience who understands the motivation behind the boy's behavior. The teen is also learning how to cope with his anger through art therapy. "Our stress level is high," she said. "1t frightens us to death." Long-term effects on the family can't be summed up simply. "One paragraph can't describe how it effects the family. We're just now getting help," she said. The family's experience has made her eldest daughter more responsible. She's an advocate of the Don't Drink and Drive campaign and often volunteers as designated driver when her friends are partying. After a decade of fighting, his mother is seeking ways to ease the stress. That's when she turned to the Head Injury Association of London and District and established the county's first support group meeting in Hensall last week. "I need it really bad," she said. Young judges win recognition A very successful 4-H Judging Competition was organized by 4-H leaders in Huron County. on August 9 at the Seaforth Fairgrounds. Ten thought-provoking judging stations of items from tool boxes to livestock forced members to use their best decision-making skills. Around ninety members from throughout Huron County took part. Although each member is a winner for taking part, the top marks of the evening went to : Top Novice - Tyler Teichert, RR 4, Goderich Top Junior - Katie Snell, RR 1 Clinton Top Intemiediate - Sandra Schuttel, RR 5 Goderich Top Senior - Adrianna Boot, RR 4, Clinton Top Overall - Adrianna Boot, RR 4, Clinton Top Team - Cecile Maes, RR 1 Hensall, James McNaughton, RR 3 Kippen, Laurie Rodges, RR 2, Goderich and Kris McNaughton, RR 3, Kippen. GREGOR CAMPBELL PHOTO HOCKEY SCHOOL GRADS - Dave McLlwain's Hockey three age divisions to wrap things up Friday afternoon. The School opened at the Seaforth and District Community hockey school continues with another batch of would-be Centres last week. Graduates played exhibition games in NHLers this final week of summer holidays r 1 1 ' J Ash your AMM, Inn A�•nrh� 1 11 11 1 ON THE ONLY GARDEN TRACTOR WITH A 7 -YEAR WARRANTY! PLUS... 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